Edward Marston - Inspector Colbeck's Casebook

‘I don’t think that Anstey will come back,’ she said.

‘Oh, he’ll be back, I assure you.’

‘What if he did steal those things?’

‘Then he’s hidden them somewhere in the garden so that he can take them with him today and sell them for a small profit. Draycott could be mistaken, of course,’ said Colbeck, reaching for his cup of tea. ‘We’ve noticed before that he has lapses of memory. He might just have mislaid the items he thinks were stolen.’

‘No, Robert, he wouldn’t do that. He’s very possessive about his tools.’

‘Who else does he work for?’

‘He has three or four gardens to look after, including the one next door, of course. I’ve spoken about him to Mr and Mrs Grayston.’

‘What’s their opinion of him?’

‘Much the same as ours,’ she replied. ‘They say that Draycott is inclined to be grumpy but he’s as honest as the day is long. He’s been their gardener for years.’

‘So who do we believe — a man like Draycott with a good record of service or some fellow plucked off the street by the superintendent?’

‘Anstey did it,’ she decided. ‘That’s why we’ll never see him again.’

The doorbell rang. ‘I fancy that may be wrong,’ said Colbeck with a grin. After draining his cup, he stood up. ‘I’ll get to the bottom of this.’

Taking him into the garden, Colbeck asked Anstey to show him exactly what he’d done on the previous day. The man responded quickly. While Sam went scampering off towards the far end of the garden, Colbeck was given a brief tour by Anstey who pointed out a whole range of things he’d done. Colbeck glanced down at the green patches on the man’s knees.

‘You forgot to mention the weeding,’ he said. ‘I think you spent a lot of time kneeling on the grass in that neglected area behind the trellis.’

‘My back was breaking by the time I’d finished.’

‘I can imagine.’

Anstey licked his lips. ‘It wasn’t me, sir,’ he said. ‘I’m no thief.’

‘I haven’t accused you of anything.’

‘Mr Draycott did. He’ll say anything to get rid of me.’

‘Let’s have no criticism of Draycott,’ warned Colbeck. ‘He’s an experienced gardener. The truth is that I simply don’t have time to take a proper interest in what happens out here. If it were not for Draycott, all this would be a jungle.’

‘He’s done a good job,’ conceded Anstey, ‘though he’s let those bushes at the far end grow far too much. They’ll need pruning in the autumn.’

‘I’ll take your word for it.’

Colbeck asked him a series of apparently innocuous questions about his past, probing away in the hope that he’d find the true measure of the man. Anstey’s replies became more and more hesitant. For the first time, he began to look shifty. They were still deep in conversation when Madeleine brought Draycott into view. The gardener surged towards the two figures.

‘Lay hold on him, Inspector!’ he cried. ‘He stole my tools.’

‘What evidence do you have of that?’ asked Colbeck.

‘I have the evidence of my own eyes, sir. Only one person has been working near my shed over the last couple of days and that’s the rogue standing next to you. Nobody else could have taken my things,’ he stressed, ‘unless, of course, you think that Mrs Colbeck is guilty.’

‘Heaven forbid!’ exclaimed Madeleine.

‘I think we can rule out my wife,’ said Colbeck, good-humouredly, ‘but suspicion is bound to fall on you, Anstey. Did you go into that shed?’

‘Yes, I did,’ admitted the other, ‘but it was only to put some things away.’

‘And to take others out,’ sneered Draycott. ‘Admit it — you were tempted.’

All eyes were turned on Anstey. He looked away and moved his feet uneasily.

‘Is that right?’ pressed Colbeck. ‘ Did you yield to temptation?’

‘No,’ said Anstey, meeting his gaze. ‘I didn’t. When I found those flagons of beer hidden away in there, I wanted to slake my thirst because it had been hot work. But I held back. Because that beer was not mine, I never even touched it.’

It was Draycott’s turn to look hunted. Madeleine was shocked.

‘What’s this about beer?’ asked Colbeck, fixing him with a stare. ‘You were told when you first came here that no alcohol was allowed. How long have you been drinking in secret in the shed?’

‘Oh, I don’t drink it, sir,’ gabbled Draycott, ‘I’m looking after it for a friend.’

‘Don’t insult my intelligence, man!’

‘I’m not the criminal here, Mr Colbeck — he is.’

He pointed at Anstey but nobody else was looking. Colbeck and Madeleine were diverted by some excited yapping. The dog had obviously found something. Anstey ran to the bottom of the garden to see what was happening and the others followed. Sam had been thorough. Having sniffed around the base of some bushes, he’d found that he could easily get through to the neighbouring garden by moving a loose branch. At his feet was a trowel that he’d retrieved from next door.

‘I’ll wager that it belongs to you, Draycott,’ said Colbeck, guessing what must have happened. ‘You’re employed by Mr and Mrs Grayston, aren’t you? I wonder if they know that you can get from their garden into ours and back again with relative ease. I believe that, on the first day we had Anstey, you came back when nobody was looking and moved some tools from the shed to the other side of those bushes. Then you had the gall to accuse him of a crime.’

‘I told you it wasn’t me,’ said Anstey.

Draycott gave a nervous laugh. ‘It was only in fun,’ he said. ‘I was playing a little joke, that’s all. I never really meant to get him into trouble.’

‘Well, I mean to get you into trouble,’ said Colbeck, clapping a hand on his shoulder. ‘You’ve been hiding beer in the shed, gaining illegal access between this garden and the one next door, subjecting Mr Anstey to threatening language and behaviour, contriving to incriminate him and lying your head off when you’re caught out. I’m sure that I can think of a few other charges to add to the list. But don’t worry,’ he continued, ‘it’s only in fun. It’s my little joke.’ Draycott hung his head in shame. Colbeck’s gaze shifted to Anstey. ‘It seems that we’ve just lost a gardener. I don’t suppose that you’d care to help us out a little longer, would you?’

‘Yes, please!’ cried Anstey in delight.

‘The first thing you can do is to repair that gap between the two houses. Like us, our neighbours are entitled to privacy. Neither we nor they want anyone coming in from next door whenever they choose.’

‘Oh,’ said Madeleine, fondling the dog, ‘I think there’s something we must do before that. We must find Sam another bone. He deserves it. I yield to none in my admiration of my husband’s abilities as a policeman but — just for today — Sam is the real detective.’

‘Jenny Lind?’

‘Even you must have heard of her,’ said Colbeck.

‘No, sir, I haven’t.’

‘She’s one of the most famous sopranos in the world, Victor. Have you never heard mention of the Swedish Nightingale?’

‘I’m not very interested in birds,’ said Leeming.

‘It’s the nickname of Jenny Lind because she sings with the purity of a nightingale. People used to fight to get tickets to see her. Her operatic career made her a fortune. When she was in America, she’s reputed to have earned enormous amounts of money.’

Leeming was astounded. ‘She got all that just for imitating a bird?’

‘Even the most gifted nightingale couldn’t sing the great arias that she made her own. As for the money,’ said Colbeck, ‘she gave a large amount of it away to found and endow scholarships in Sweden. I once had the privilege of hearing her in La Sonnambula …’